I'm sure a few of you have noticed the new blog layout. (and if not, then check it out!!) I wasn't sure if this new layout would take longer to load or not...if the blog seems unusually slow to load (or if you generally don't like it) just let me know!!
And thanks for reading!
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Happy Halloween!
Zack and Haley say "Trick-or-treat!"
Ok, I know this is an older picture, but they're so darned cute!! If Batman ever decided to have a furry side-kick, it would have to be Zack....those ears, that double-mask, the grouchy demeanor....I mean, he IS Batman in doggie form!!
So life continues rolling along. Hubby and I have had a few busy weekends visiting friends and having friends visit us. It's been great to catch up with all of them, but it also reminds me of how much I miss having a strong social network. Before moving to Blacksburg, I'd lived in the Charlottesville/Crozet area for 12 years. That's longer than I'd lived in any other place my entire life! I've made some great life-long friends from those years, and had gotten pretty comfortable and settled.
This move has been awkward socially. On one hand, I'd really like to meet some people in B'burg who share similar interests, whether it be horse riding, bike riding, even going to check out live music or some plays....folks that might want to do spur-of-the-moment hikes or grab a beer out. On the other hand, we're only 2.5hrs away from a number of my dear friends, so it's easy to plan weekend trips to visit and do similar things. But that makes me feel socially isolated in B'burg. For all this whining, I'm not too worried as it's only been 4 months and it took me 12 years in C'ville :-) I've never been one to make friends quickly!
Hubby just commented that we simply haven't found the right crowd yet....the old fogey crowd. Thanks dear.
The furries are all doing pretty well.....getting furry-er as we speak. Winter arrived yesterday in the form of a sleet storm so I can't blame the creatures for fluffing-out and getting into hibernation mode. Example A:
Example B:
Yeahhhhh....it's a rough life.
Dax is still lame and still in the same place she was. I applied to a non-profit horse rehab organization but they turn us down, so I'm back to square one trying to find a better and cheaper living arrangement for her. I've got another lead to follow up with, but I'm pretty sure it's going to come down to me posting a "free horse" ad on craigslist....which I'm really scared to do b/c I don't want her to end up in a sketchy situation. Obviously I can try to minimize this risk by careful interviews and visiting farms, but once she's moved I have no control. And this is assuming anyone is even willing to take her on, which is a big IF in this economy. *sigh* At least she's been a good girl since the kicking incident - she's got a minor skin infection on her pastern (commonly called scratches) and she lets me treat it in the field without fuss, even though it's pretty sensitive. She gets this crap every year when the grass is really wet, causing her lower legs to stay wet and allowing bacteria growth to take off.
Lab and school are going well, and getting busier by the week. I'm finally doing actual experiments!! Woo! Growing cells, running gels....and it all makes me feel totally helpless because I have to ask where everything is. I swear I know how to do this crap...I just don't know where the buffers are, where the conical tubes are kept, where I can put my stuff in the freezers. I don't know where the freezers are for that matter! Totally helpless. Luckily the lab manager/tech is patient and understands, so she'll kindly stop whatever she's doing to get me a lab timer or show me where the sharpie markers are (first lab I've been in where there aren't sharpies lying around everywhere!).
There's been lots of lab drama due to our scheduled move to a new building in the end of Nov or Dec (we're predicting it doesn't happen before the holidays :-). Currently, my lab is located in a building separate from the main veterinary campus. The main vet campus is made up of three connected buildings, so it basically looks like one very long building, but it's divided up by the hospital phase, the classroom/teaching phase and the research phase (they're called phases b/c they were built in different phases. Very creative.) Now there is a fourth new wing with two floors, one for offices and IT and the second floor with all research labs (and a kitchen area!! I'm pushing for a new coffee maker...) There are five labs, so we'll occupy one and the other four are reserved for new faculty. I'm excited to be moving for multiple reasons:
1) I'll be in a more centralized location for classes and labwork.
2) New lab = new equipment!
3) No stink bugs. Our current building is very old...we have window A/C units b/c there's no central air, and somehow lots of little "wildlife" find their way inside. I was doing cell culture in a sterile cabinet/hood Thursday when I suddenly saw a stinkbug sauntering along the open edge about 4 inches from my arms. Not so sterile.
4) New collaborators! The new labs are reserved for new faculty which the department is actually in the process of hiring (not just talking about hiring). It's an example of a general expansion that seems to be going on in the college. There's another new building that just broke ground that is for DVM teaching and professor offices. Another huge research building (called the "translational research" building) is 3rd on the list to get funded by the university, meaning it very well could break ground in the next two years and be built before I graduate! The physical expansion goes along with the new hiring expansions (something like 11 new faculty over the next couple of years!), and there are plans to expand the DVM class sizes as well. It's an exciting time to be at the VMRCVM! (Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine).
5) I'll be getting my own lab bench to work at (right now I'm sharing) and I'll hopefully learn where stuff is stored as we move...since I'll be helping put things away as we unpack. But that means we can also organize and generally have the lab set up in a much more efficient way than it is now. Right now, it's kind of chaos, and I'm not just saying that b/c I'm still sort of new and don't know where anything is.
Let's see, other than that I'm still working on writing some grants...have gotten good comments back from some faculty on my rough draft. Now I'm scrambling to find a place to submit it because I just found out last Monday that I am in-eligible to apply to the F31 I was originally planning on applying to. Poop. Serious poop. I also can't apply to an NSF fellowship b/c I have a Masters degree. It's looking more and more like my proposals are going to end up being submitted by my PI for R-type grants (the kind of grants that only go to faculty, or at least people with doctorate degrees). Either way it'll get submitted which is good, except it would be better for my career if I was able to get an award under my own name.
Notice I'm automatically assuming they'll get funded?? HA! It's a big assumption either of my proposals will make it past triage (where all the grants that don't have a remote chance get tossed without being reviewed).
Learning....it's all a learning experience....
I'm getting the stare-down from the puppers. Time for a walk, then some apartment cleaning. Hope everybody else has a nice weekend!
Ok, I know this is an older picture, but they're so darned cute!! If Batman ever decided to have a furry side-kick, it would have to be Zack....those ears, that double-mask, the grouchy demeanor....I mean, he IS Batman in doggie form!!
So life continues rolling along. Hubby and I have had a few busy weekends visiting friends and having friends visit us. It's been great to catch up with all of them, but it also reminds me of how much I miss having a strong social network. Before moving to Blacksburg, I'd lived in the Charlottesville/Crozet area for 12 years. That's longer than I'd lived in any other place my entire life! I've made some great life-long friends from those years, and had gotten pretty comfortable and settled.
This move has been awkward socially. On one hand, I'd really like to meet some people in B'burg who share similar interests, whether it be horse riding, bike riding, even going to check out live music or some plays....folks that might want to do spur-of-the-moment hikes or grab a beer out. On the other hand, we're only 2.5hrs away from a number of my dear friends, so it's easy to plan weekend trips to visit and do similar things. But that makes me feel socially isolated in B'burg. For all this whining, I'm not too worried as it's only been 4 months and it took me 12 years in C'ville :-) I've never been one to make friends quickly!
Hubby just commented that we simply haven't found the right crowd yet....the old fogey crowd. Thanks dear.
The furries are all doing pretty well.....getting furry-er as we speak. Winter arrived yesterday in the form of a sleet storm so I can't blame the creatures for fluffing-out and getting into hibernation mode. Example A:
Example B:
Yeahhhhh....it's a rough life.
Dax is still lame and still in the same place she was. I applied to a non-profit horse rehab organization but they turn us down, so I'm back to square one trying to find a better and cheaper living arrangement for her. I've got another lead to follow up with, but I'm pretty sure it's going to come down to me posting a "free horse" ad on craigslist....which I'm really scared to do b/c I don't want her to end up in a sketchy situation. Obviously I can try to minimize this risk by careful interviews and visiting farms, but once she's moved I have no control. And this is assuming anyone is even willing to take her on, which is a big IF in this economy. *sigh* At least she's been a good girl since the kicking incident - she's got a minor skin infection on her pastern (commonly called scratches) and she lets me treat it in the field without fuss, even though it's pretty sensitive. She gets this crap every year when the grass is really wet, causing her lower legs to stay wet and allowing bacteria growth to take off.
Lab and school are going well, and getting busier by the week. I'm finally doing actual experiments!! Woo! Growing cells, running gels....and it all makes me feel totally helpless because I have to ask where everything is. I swear I know how to do this crap...I just don't know where the buffers are, where the conical tubes are kept, where I can put my stuff in the freezers. I don't know where the freezers are for that matter! Totally helpless. Luckily the lab manager/tech is patient and understands, so she'll kindly stop whatever she's doing to get me a lab timer or show me where the sharpie markers are (first lab I've been in where there aren't sharpies lying around everywhere!).
There's been lots of lab drama due to our scheduled move to a new building in the end of Nov or Dec (we're predicting it doesn't happen before the holidays :-). Currently, my lab is located in a building separate from the main veterinary campus. The main vet campus is made up of three connected buildings, so it basically looks like one very long building, but it's divided up by the hospital phase, the classroom/teaching phase and the research phase (they're called phases b/c they were built in different phases. Very creative.) Now there is a fourth new wing with two floors, one for offices and IT and the second floor with all research labs (and a kitchen area!! I'm pushing for a new coffee maker...) There are five labs, so we'll occupy one and the other four are reserved for new faculty. I'm excited to be moving for multiple reasons:
1) I'll be in a more centralized location for classes and labwork.
2) New lab = new equipment!
3) No stink bugs. Our current building is very old...we have window A/C units b/c there's no central air, and somehow lots of little "wildlife" find their way inside. I was doing cell culture in a sterile cabinet/hood Thursday when I suddenly saw a stinkbug sauntering along the open edge about 4 inches from my arms. Not so sterile.
4) New collaborators! The new labs are reserved for new faculty which the department is actually in the process of hiring (not just talking about hiring). It's an example of a general expansion that seems to be going on in the college. There's another new building that just broke ground that is for DVM teaching and professor offices. Another huge research building (called the "translational research" building) is 3rd on the list to get funded by the university, meaning it very well could break ground in the next two years and be built before I graduate! The physical expansion goes along with the new hiring expansions (something like 11 new faculty over the next couple of years!), and there are plans to expand the DVM class sizes as well. It's an exciting time to be at the VMRCVM! (Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine).
5) I'll be getting my own lab bench to work at (right now I'm sharing) and I'll hopefully learn where stuff is stored as we move...since I'll be helping put things away as we unpack. But that means we can also organize and generally have the lab set up in a much more efficient way than it is now. Right now, it's kind of chaos, and I'm not just saying that b/c I'm still sort of new and don't know where anything is.
Let's see, other than that I'm still working on writing some grants...have gotten good comments back from some faculty on my rough draft. Now I'm scrambling to find a place to submit it because I just found out last Monday that I am in-eligible to apply to the F31 I was originally planning on applying to. Poop. Serious poop. I also can't apply to an NSF fellowship b/c I have a Masters degree. It's looking more and more like my proposals are going to end up being submitted by my PI for R-type grants (the kind of grants that only go to faculty, or at least people with doctorate degrees). Either way it'll get submitted which is good, except it would be better for my career if I was able to get an award under my own name.
Notice I'm automatically assuming they'll get funded?? HA! It's a big assumption either of my proposals will make it past triage (where all the grants that don't have a remote chance get tossed without being reviewed).
Learning....it's all a learning experience....
I'm getting the stare-down from the puppers. Time for a walk, then some apartment cleaning. Hope everybody else has a nice weekend!
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Gratuitous advertising
Dear Readers,
If you are of a sciencey-bent and have some spare time, check out my friend's blog and read some ruminations on monsters, volcanos, philandering men, oh, and Mary Shelley:
http://tinyacorns.net/
If you are of a more photo-y mood, check out the recently updated photo site of my dear hubby (who has a photography addiction like I have a horse addiction :-) :
http://www.brianhallphoto.com/
I promise an actual update on life in Blacksburg soon!
- Cat
If you are of a sciencey-bent and have some spare time, check out my friend's blog and read some ruminations on monsters, volcanos, philandering men, oh, and Mary Shelley:
http://tinyacorns.net/
If you are of a more photo-y mood, check out the recently updated photo site of my dear hubby (who has a photography addiction like I have a horse addiction :-) :
http://www.brianhallphoto.com/
I promise an actual update on life in Blacksburg soon!
- Cat
Friday, October 21, 2011
Dax is going to be famous!!
And I'm going to get my jumping form torn to shreds.
What is this all about? Why, a picture of Dax and myself jumping is up to be critiqued by none other than George Morris in Practical Horseman's Jumper clinic column!
So I imagine all my non-horsey friends are wondering what the heck I'm talking about. Brief background:
1) Practical Horseman is a popular equine magazine focused on jumping/hunter style english riding.
2) George Morris is a SUPER famous trainer/coach/rider dude who has been running a column in the monthly magazine for...I don't know....ever? A long time anyway. His approach to form and showing is from a previous generation/classical hunter approach and he has very particular preferences about how riding and showing should be done.
3) In this column, he takes three pictures of people riding over a jump and critiques each rider's form, horse's form, cleanliness, tack, etc. Offers tips and suggestions for correcting mistakes and training stuff.
The point? The picture of Dax and myself jumping is going to be published in a reallyio-trulio magazine with national distribution!! It only took four years :-) Yup, submitted the photo four years ago - the magazine uses photos in the order in which they are submitted. It's a pretty popular column!
What photo might I be referring to? Why, this one!
Of course I think it's great and that both Dax's and my form are pretty darned good....but Morris is a stickler and ALWAYS finds stuff. I'm preparing for a major picking-apart. So if you want to see Dax and myself in print, check out the December copy of Practical Horseman (they're always at Barnes and Noble, probably any tack stores, etc.).
I just want everyone to look carefully at Dax's expression here....if anyone ever questioned that horses' like to jump, here's the proof. Dax freakin' loved it, and I loved jumping with her. I miss that so much.
What is this all about? Why, a picture of Dax and myself jumping is up to be critiqued by none other than George Morris in Practical Horseman's Jumper clinic column!
So I imagine all my non-horsey friends are wondering what the heck I'm talking about. Brief background:
1) Practical Horseman is a popular equine magazine focused on jumping/hunter style english riding.
2) George Morris is a SUPER famous trainer/coach/rider dude who has been running a column in the monthly magazine for...I don't know....ever? A long time anyway. His approach to form and showing is from a previous generation/classical hunter approach and he has very particular preferences about how riding and showing should be done.
3) In this column, he takes three pictures of people riding over a jump and critiques each rider's form, horse's form, cleanliness, tack, etc. Offers tips and suggestions for correcting mistakes and training stuff.
The point? The picture of Dax and myself jumping is going to be published in a reallyio-trulio magazine with national distribution!! It only took four years :-) Yup, submitted the photo four years ago - the magazine uses photos in the order in which they are submitted. It's a pretty popular column!
What photo might I be referring to? Why, this one!
Of course I think it's great and that both Dax's and my form are pretty darned good....but Morris is a stickler and ALWAYS finds stuff. I'm preparing for a major picking-apart. So if you want to see Dax and myself in print, check out the December copy of Practical Horseman (they're always at Barnes and Noble, probably any tack stores, etc.).
I just want everyone to look carefully at Dax's expression here....if anyone ever questioned that horses' like to jump, here's the proof. Dax freakin' loved it, and I loved jumping with her. I miss that so much.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Horse hazards
This will be a short post....because my hand freaking hurts.
Ok, so it doesn't look nearly as gory in the pic as it does in real life....normally I can see the bones in the back of my hand clearly, just to give you an idea of the swelling. The bruising is deep and developing slowly, but I don't think anything is broken as I can still move everything and pressure doesn't create any stabbing pains (I'm typing pretty effectively right now).
Sunday, after spending an hour doting on my half-sleeping horse (it was bath time) and hand grazing her for another 10mins, we headed back to her pasture. The breeze was up, it was a beautiful evening and she perked up as we headed up the hill. We were just through the first gate when she majorly spooked, dove forward and yanked me along with her as I had a pretty good grip on the lead rope. Meaning my hands where right out in front of me when she sent a rear hoof directly at me, catching me in the back of both hands and across my left forearm.
Needless to say I let go of the lead rope. Which is a good thing, because otherwise I would have strangled her with it.
Dax went tearing off. After I assessed the damage (can move everything, no major blood, have feeling again) I followed to catch and return her to her pasture. Of course she gives me these" Oh HI mom! Where have you been?"eyes and actually walks to me across the rest of the field. She nuzzled my scraped up arm after I let her loose in her pasture, probably smelling some of the blood.
Idiot. Horse.
Just goes to show it doesn't matter how much your horse loves/fears/trusts/knows you....if something scares it badly, they know they can run faster than you, and the fastest one survives. Bomb-proof horses are a myth, and any horse that can stand on four feet can still kick and bite. Shoot, they can bite even if they're lying down! While I've never had that particular incident happen, I do have some nice bite scars, along with permanent dents in my quads where a filly double-barrelled me in a stall, and and old scar below the bikini line where a horse caught me in a pasture and hairline fractured my pelvis. That's not including the concussion from falling off.....
So you remember the last horse post where I talked about how every time I get on a horse I am trusting it with my life? I want to amend that to be "Any time I am within 20ft of a horse, I am trusting it with my life."
More later, but right now there's an ice pack calling my name.
Sunday, after spending an hour doting on my half-sleeping horse (it was bath time) and hand grazing her for another 10mins, we headed back to her pasture. The breeze was up, it was a beautiful evening and she perked up as we headed up the hill. We were just through the first gate when she majorly spooked, dove forward and yanked me along with her as I had a pretty good grip on the lead rope. Meaning my hands where right out in front of me when she sent a rear hoof directly at me, catching me in the back of both hands and across my left forearm.
Needless to say I let go of the lead rope. Which is a good thing, because otherwise I would have strangled her with it.
Dax went tearing off. After I assessed the damage (can move everything, no major blood, have feeling again) I followed to catch and return her to her pasture. Of course she gives me these" Oh HI mom! Where have you been?"eyes and actually walks to me across the rest of the field. She nuzzled my scraped up arm after I let her loose in her pasture, probably smelling some of the blood.
Idiot. Horse.
Just goes to show it doesn't matter how much your horse loves/fears/trusts/knows you....if something scares it badly, they know they can run faster than you, and the fastest one survives. Bomb-proof horses are a myth, and any horse that can stand on four feet can still kick and bite. Shoot, they can bite even if they're lying down! While I've never had that particular incident happen, I do have some nice bite scars, along with permanent dents in my quads where a filly double-barrelled me in a stall, and and old scar below the bikini line where a horse caught me in a pasture and hairline fractured my pelvis. That's not including the concussion from falling off.....
So you remember the last horse post where I talked about how every time I get on a horse I am trusting it with my life? I want to amend that to be "Any time I am within 20ft of a horse, I am trusting it with my life."
More later, but right now there's an ice pack calling my name.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Need more motor in my motor-vate...
This is bad. Very bad.
I'm using lab work to procrastinate on class work. Ok, technically right now I'm using blogger to procrastinate, but this morning the former was true.
I should be studying for immunology (whee! neutrophil enzymes!) and for my systems biology exam on Monday but no....I decided to work on my fellowship application. Er, applications. *sigh* This is dangerous territory. Yes, I was being productive and the fellowships are due in the beginning of December, so it's not trivial stuff....but if I'm not careful I'll be rocking my lab work and failing all my classes :-(
Oh, for those of you science-minded, I'm applying for an NIH F31 (NRSA) fellowship (application almost identical to an R21). For those of you non-sciencey people, this means I'm writing a 6 page proposal for a specific project that I want the National Institutes of Heath to give me money to study. I get to convince them in 6 pages that 1) the disease I want to study is important 2) there's lots of sound science out there supporting my hypothesis 3) I can efficiently test my hypothesis and have backup plans should experiments fail 4) that my idea is innovative. I also have to convince them that I'm generally awesome, have an awesome mentor at an awesome school and that they are investing taxpayers dollars in the career of a future brilliant scientist. Riiiiiiiiiight......
I used the plural "applications" b/c I'm actually writing two, which are semi-related. Which-ever comes out the best will be the one I actually submit to NIH. These also happen to be the two projects my mentor wants me to develop for my thesis, so it's all inter-connected and will serve an important purpose (project proposal to my committee!) regardless of my ability to woo NIH into giving me money.
Oh, and it's not like I'd be making bank or anything.....it's really all for the glory of saying "I am funded by NIH". ("bitches" could be added at the end of that, depending on context of delivery. For example, it would be appropriate to brag "I am funded by NIH, bitches!" to snotty medical students questioning the validity of a veterinarian doing research, but probably best not used for interview applications)
POLL RESULTS:
On a completely different note, the consensus of my dear 5 readers is that the rambles shall continue, un abated. Well, it was confirmed to me that I actually have more than 5 readers and I should have had the poll up longer, but considering the response I got was unanimous for keeping the blog as it is, I'm not too worried about it :-) You like me! You really like me!!!!!
But my professors aren't going to like me if I don't get on top of this studying....so back to the books!
I'm using lab work to procrastinate on class work. Ok, technically right now I'm using blogger to procrastinate, but this morning the former was true.
I should be studying for immunology (whee! neutrophil enzymes!) and for my systems biology exam on Monday but no....I decided to work on my fellowship application. Er, applications. *sigh* This is dangerous territory. Yes, I was being productive and the fellowships are due in the beginning of December, so it's not trivial stuff....but if I'm not careful I'll be rocking my lab work and failing all my classes :-(
Oh, for those of you science-minded, I'm applying for an NIH F31 (NRSA) fellowship (application almost identical to an R21). For those of you non-sciencey people, this means I'm writing a 6 page proposal for a specific project that I want the National Institutes of Heath to give me money to study. I get to convince them in 6 pages that 1) the disease I want to study is important 2) there's lots of sound science out there supporting my hypothesis 3) I can efficiently test my hypothesis and have backup plans should experiments fail 4) that my idea is innovative. I also have to convince them that I'm generally awesome, have an awesome mentor at an awesome school and that they are investing taxpayers dollars in the career of a future brilliant scientist. Riiiiiiiiiight......
I used the plural "applications" b/c I'm actually writing two, which are semi-related. Which-ever comes out the best will be the one I actually submit to NIH. These also happen to be the two projects my mentor wants me to develop for my thesis, so it's all inter-connected and will serve an important purpose (project proposal to my committee!) regardless of my ability to woo NIH into giving me money.
Oh, and it's not like I'd be making bank or anything.....it's really all for the glory of saying "I am funded by NIH". ("bitches" could be added at the end of that, depending on context of delivery. For example, it would be appropriate to brag "I am funded by NIH, bitches!" to snotty medical students questioning the validity of a veterinarian doing research, but probably best not used for interview applications)
POLL RESULTS:
On a completely different note, the consensus of my dear 5 readers is that the rambles shall continue, un abated. Well, it was confirmed to me that I actually have more than 5 readers and I should have had the poll up longer, but considering the response I got was unanimous for keeping the blog as it is, I'm not too worried about it :-) You like me! You really like me!!!!!
But my professors aren't going to like me if I don't get on top of this studying....so back to the books!
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